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Gail's Pumpkin Patch welcomes
visitors from Down Under
[July 24, 2026]
The first visitors to Gail’s
Pumpkin Patch in Beason this year were not locals, rather, they were
two men visiting the United States from Australia. With the large
number of visitors coming through Logan County this year due to
Route 66 turning 100 years old, one would likely assume their
presence here to be for that reason. In fact, their visit to Gail’s
has nothing to do with Route 66 and everything to do with the right
time and place.
Gail’s Pumpkin Patch owners Gail
Apel-Sasse and Dave Sasse shared that they went on a trip to Fair
Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana last year. While there, they met
Pat Topp, one of the two men that came to visit their farm. They
were in the same tour group and found they were staying at the same
hotel. They got to know each other a bit, and Topp said he would
love to come visit their farm when they were in the United States
the following year.
Topp, and his friend Greg Brown, came to the U.S., flying into Des
Moines via several connecting flights. They rented a car and drove
around to several speedway races throughout the country. Topp
reached out to Gail and asked about visiting her farm while he and
Brown were in the country. Gail was very happy to oblige them, and
they set a day.
Topp and Brown shared they both have a background in farming, and so
touring farms and seeing the various farm equipment is something
they enjoy. Topp was very excited to get to speak to some locals.
“This is fantastic,” he said, “just being able to talk to some local
people.”
When Topp and Brown arrived, the
four spent some time speaking outside, reintroducing themselves and
catching up. Topp and Brown shared they were going to be staying in
Lincoln that night and were going to explore the town a bit.
Gail and Dave spent some time
showing off their tractors inside the barn. Topp and Brown were very
interested. The pair asked many questions, and Gail and Dave were
only too happy to answer.
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The group went to the other
side of the barn where during the fall Gail and Dave sell farm
goods like apple cider slushies and popcorn. This is when the
group began to share some of the differences between the U.S.
and Australia. Topp explained that, in Australia, large barns
such as the one they were in are referred to as sheds. He also
said that they are all metal, pointing out the wooden rafters in
Gail and Dave’s barn.
Gail informed Topp and Brown that
they were the first visitors to Gail’s Pumpkin Patch in 2026. She
brought over their guestbook and asked if they would sign in. Brown
took a moment to do so for himself and Topp.
Topp and Brown shared that they were both very well-traveled in the
U.S. While Topp had been to this part of the Midwest many times,
this was Brown’s first time in this part of the region. They
themselves are from Queensland, which is in the northern part of
Australia. Their hometown is just west of Queensland capital,
Brisbane.
They had nice things to say about the United States. Topp stated
that the U.S. has great water and very productive land. He also
shared how nice the people have been. “The people have been
wonderful,” Topp said, “very friendly… We’re experiencing the local
culture here, which is fabulous.”
The pair were surprised by the number of Americans who have
communicated they would not want to visit Australia due to the large
spiders and snakes. They shared that these things are very rare to
see. Brown did say that crocodiles can be a potential issue in the
northern part of Australia if people are not careful.
Before the group went to look at
the fields, Topp brought a gift for Gail and Dave. He then retrieved
a bag of Australian coins. The group took some time to look at them,
and Topp thought that their grandkids might bring them into school
for show-and-tell.
Gail and Dave then took their visitors in golf carts to get a closer
look at their fields, continuing their tour.
Gail's Pumpkin Patch welcomes visitors from Down Under photo
slideshow
[Matt Boutcher]
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